The government has sent questions to the 59 Chinese applications it banned and sought details of the beneficial owner and the country they are incorporated in, the Economic Times reported.
TikTok on Friday confirmed to Medianama that it received a questionnaire from the Centre on Wednesday. “We have received a communication from Ministry of Information and Technology and are working to respond to them within the stipulated time frame. We have been in compliance with the laws and regulations of the Government of India and will continue to cooperate, address their concerns and provide necessary clarification,” a spokesperson told the portal.
A senior government official told ET that the questions posed to the companies include their financial structure, beneficial owner, country of incorporation, the parent company, the board of directors and the location of their data centres.
ET reported that while 59 apps have been banned, over 300 URLs and apps, including gaming apps, are currently being reviewed by the government.
On June 29, the Union Government banned 59 Chinese apps over security concerns, largely assumed to be over clash at the LAC in Galwan with Chinese troops. Apps that were banned include TikTok, CamScanner, UCBrowser, Shein, Club Factory and more, a void that apps made in India are swooping in to fill. Replacements to some of these apps, especially that of TikTok, have seen record downloads since the announcement of the ban.
At the time, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said in a statement that there was “credible information” that these apps “are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.
"There have been raging concerns on aspects relating to data security and safeguarding the privacy of 130 crore Indians. It has been noted recently that such concerns also pose a threat to sovereignty and security of our country," said the government.